VIJAYAWADA: A thick layer of smog engulfed the locality of Ajit Singh Nagar in Vijayawada on Thursday early hours after a major fire broke out at the dump yard in the area on Wednesday.
Even though two special teams sent from the nearby fire station managed to douse the flames, the smog continued to surround the locality causing severe inconvenience to the residents.
On December 1, a minor fire had broken out on the dump yard premises. Then timely action by the fire safety personnel reduced the flames from spreading far.
Following the incident, a few sections of the residents had come out on the streets to stage protest against the issue and demanded that dumping of waste in the yard be stopped in view of the health issues being faced by the residents.
Upon knowing of the incident, Vijayawada Central MLA Malladi Vishnu inspected the dump yard and directed the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials to take necessary steps in preventing the dumping of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in the city at Ajit Singh Nagar dump yard.
“For the past three decades, waste is being dumped at the yard situated on the city suburbs. It was later that people started inhabiting in the area, thanks to rapid urbanisation. Several people from poor and middle-class sections chose Ajit Singh Nagar to reside in.
So far, 10,000 metric tonnes of waste has been shifted from the yard and 12,000 metric tonnes is yet to be shifted,” Vishnu said, adding that the procedure will be completed by the next couple of months.
Speaking to TNIE, VMC executive engineer V Chandrasekhar said that for the past couple of months, the quantum of MSW generated in the city increased due to various reasons.
“At present, we are utilising the Ajit Singh Nagar dump yard as a transfer station and shifting the waste to another dump yard at Pathapadu village,” he said.
As many as seven heavy vehicles are shifting the wastes to Pathapadu from Ajit Singh Nagar.
“With increase in the quantum of MSW, the VMC has decided to invite tenders for procuring more number of vehicles for transporting the piled up waste from the dump yard at Ajit Singh Nagar,” the EE added.